I was reading about tying techniques on midcurrent the other day and came across tips for tying a "looped wonder wing." I did a little more research and came across this tutorial.

I've never seen this style of wing before and thought it was interesting so I thought I'd share it here. They look great and use those big feathers that would otherwise only get used for tails. A bit hard to tie on smaller flies, but I'm sure that it gets easier with practice.

Here's my first try. Shorter hackle would help, and I could have used more stem and therefore wing fibers, but it illustrates the idea...

I hear you, my first attempt on a size 10 went really well and I thought it'd be easy. So I tried a 16 and the first three attempts got the razor ... the fourth proved to be a little easier, I don't think it was any harder than tying wings with wood duck flank. Nevertheless, I thought it was an interesting idea, had never heard of it and wanted to share.

PhilC: Thanks for the comment. I read that the attached hackle stem makes the wings sturdy enough to cause the fly to twist the leader a lot when casting (like when one has their fly stuck in a small leaf). The article suggested that not attaching the hackle stem when tying the wing in the upright position corrects this problem... In my attempt I may have over compensated. I'm pretty new to tying and fly fishing in general so this is a very much a "new" technique to me. I will try a few with the hackle attached to see if I experience the twisting problem that was described.

Nice job on the wings. I fooled with that years ago but for a trailing shuck not the wings. They look cool as all get out but don't last very long, at least not mine. I didn't snip the stem out when I was doing it, that might make even more fragile don't know.

Posted on: 2013/10/23 6:24

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Thanks Ty: I was just silently admiring your streamers in another thread. the article I linked to in the OP includes some pics of flies tied after mastering the technique. I'll admit that it's a little difficult to get the hang of, but I stand by my previous statement that they're not much more difficult than tying wings with wood duck flanks. I'm a little discouraged by reports that they're not durable, but I do most of my fishing from the bench, and when I do get out I don't catch enough fish for durability to be much a problem, and if durability does become a problem I think it'll be problem I'm willing to live with :)

to make them a little more sturdy if you feel it needs it try scotch tape although it may make it a bit heavier question did you use a section of a feather long enough to use the tips as the tail too ?

Posted on: 2013/11/3 13:26

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I think that one could use the extra fibers on the feather to do the tail as well. I have thought about this, but have not tried it yet. So far the remaining fibers in my experiments would produce a tail that I feel would be on the short side, however using more of the stem might provide the extra length.

I swear by the wonder wings. I have a devoted list of customers that swear by them as well. As far as durability, they can be touchy, but it seems as if the more beat up they get, the better they work. A touch of reinforcing cement of your liking on the tips and the base of the wings goes a long way in added durability.